Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson said Wednesday at the corporation’s annual shareholder meeting that the Permian Basin is undergoing a tremendous rebirth due to technological advancements.

The rebirth will help Chevron’s plans for a significant increase in production by the end of the decade, he said. An expanding middle class globally means energy demand will only go up, he said, with the company predicting energy demand will grow by one-third by 2030. And oil and gas will supply more than 50 percent of that demand because it is affordable and reliable, Watson said.

“Our production can grow rapidly,” he said. “Not only can this rebirth benefit the company but it can benefit the country, creating jobs and revenues.”

Watson, senior executives, shareholders and shareholder representatives made the trip to Midland for Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting, the first one held in Midland since 2003.

The last time Chevron met in Midland, Watson said, activity levels were not nearly what they are today, and the Permian Basin continued to be seen as played out until technology helped increase production. Permian Basin production currently is at 1.4 million barrels a day and headed toward 2 million barrels a day. “Who knows where it will go?” he said.

Chevron has been active in the region for 90 years through its various legacy acquisitions, and holds 2 million acres, Watson said.

Watson also said:

- The nation is undergoing a domestic energy renaissance.

He said there a critical need for skills such as engineering, and geosciences has developed, less in Midland-Odessa because of its history with the industry;

- Majors such as Chevron, Shell and Exxon Mobil are late to the shale game because independents led early development through “tremendous innovation.”

“The U.S. is a free trade nation and we shouldn’t be seen as hoarding resources,” he said and also said exports would promote economic development.

- Chevron has signed a deal to explore the western portion of Ukraine.

He said company officials are closely watching developments in that nation, particularly the tensions to the east along the Ukraine-Russia border.

Also attending the meeting, which was at the Petroleum Museum, were those with plans to call attention to their concerns.

- Australian representatives of the International Transport Workers Union wanted more information about the Gorgon project, which Chevron says will be operational by mid-2015. Union representatives expressed concerns about that time frame.

-- Activist shareholders hoped to pressure the company for more transparency about its charitable contributions, with a speaker saying the company doesn’t need to be linked to controversial social issues through donations to controversial organizations like Planned Parenthood.

- Another shareholder called for more transparency in the company’s lobbying efforts, specifically criticizing the lack of information on Chevron’s industry association memberships.

- A nun with the Sisters of St. Francis in Philadelphia expressed concerns about Chevron’s shale operations and their impact on local communities. She said she has “serious concerns about sustainable shale development and I have seen nothing done about community involvement, as we understand it.” What happens, she asked, 20 or 30 years from now when activity falls?

Watson pointed to the company’s $1.5 billion investment in communities around the globe, supporting education, health and economic development projects. He also pointed out that 1,400 of the company’s wells are registered on the FracFocus.org web site, detailing chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing of those wells.

He played a short video detailing the March ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan that the $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron by an Ecuadorian judge was obtained through fraud and how lead attorney Gary Danzinger and his associates used fraud, bribery, money laundering and obstruction of justice to obtain the judgment. Chevron was pulled into the pollution controversy after it purchased Texaco, which had drilled in Ecuador for more than 20 years.